As the Earth was about to be precipitated in the Pharynx, It foresaw that the humanity would be enslaved by Bardioc as soon as the planet would rematerialize in the Sphere of Influence of the super intelligence. Therefore, It designed a plan with Nathan that was based on the Pill: any human who would eat it would automatically be transfered in It's consciousness when the Earth would fall into the Pharynx.

Everything went according to plan except that It had underestimated the pressure that the presence of twenty billion humans would impose on his consciousness. This pressure caused humans to materialize in various places, on the Earth, Goshmo's Castle and even in the Solar System. These humans were quickly recaptured by It, but the super intelligence now needs to find a way to release the pressure. It comes up with the "Concept", a new kind of human that hosts seven consciousnesses. Before the plan can be realized, It wants to see if this new creature is able to survive, and therefore exposes it to a survival test.

A multiple human named Kershyll Vanne is teleported on a deserted asteroid where he is exposed to several life-threatening dangers. Using the capacities of the seven hosts, Vanne successfully escapes all the traps and the two observers sent by It on the asteroid give the super intelligence a favorable report on the experiment.

Vanne then receives a mission from It: he must contact Julian Tifflor at the headquarters of the NEI and help him to complete the Eighty-Year Plan devised by the Keloskians.